Yoko is at it again......

It appears she is taking liiberties with the re-release of "Walls and Bridges"

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,176868,00.html


Monday, November 28, 2005
By Roger Friedman

Yoko Changes Lennon Album

For a genius, Yoko Ono doesn’t seem very smart.

The anniversary edition of John Lennon’s hit 1974 album, "Walls and Bridges," has just come out — but with a lot of changes.

The principal difference is a new cover: Ono has tossed aside the original — a drawing by Lennon from when he was 11 years old — and replaced it with a Bob Gruen photograph of Lennon wearing four pairs of sunglasses that used to be in the album’s liner notes.

Of course, a Gruen photograph is always a good thing. His new coffee table book, “John Lennon: The New York Years,” is a must-have for any Beatle fan (it’s certainly more important than the recent bio that was published and is said to be full of inaccuracies).

But it was Lennon who selected his childhood drawing for that cover. How, one wonders, could Ono have conceived of making such a change?

There are plenty of other “updates” on the newly remastered “Walls and Bridges." Fans have noticed that Ono lists herself as “producer” of the reissue album, her name in all capital letters. The original credits read: “Produced and Arranged by John Lennon With the Plastic Ono Nuclear Band/Little Big Horns and the Philharmanic Orchestrange.”

Ono also has replaced the Apple Records label on the original disc with a version of a customized label used on the 1972 album "Sometime in New York City." That label, now adorning "Walls and Bridges," has two pictures of Lennon, two of Ono and one of them superimposed over each other in between the pairs to make one person.

“The difference,” one fan writes, “is that when they used this on 'Sometime in New York City,' John morphed into Yoko. Now Yoko becomes John!”

Insiders have pointed out the ridiculousness of all this Ono-izing of "Walls and Bridges" since Lennon wasn’t living with Ono when he made the album. He was with his girlfriend, May Pang, a fact that is thoroughly documented.

Fans have also noticed an audio change, as well. At the tail end of “Surprise, Surprise (Sweet Bird of Paradox),” a rocking shuffle Lennon wrote for Pang, there’s a new little bit of singing as the song trails off.

It sounds like Lennon, or maybe Ono herself, is chanting “Yo-ko” very softly in a falsetto after repeating the chorus, “I love, love her.” Now it seems like it’s Ono and not Pang he loves, which was not the case at that time. Shades of the old days when the Beatles added hidden words to their songs.

Of course, the main reason for Ono’s march to revisionist history is the upcoming Dec. 8-9 25th anniversary of Lennon’s murder. First came the ill-fated Broadway musical, which closed after a short run. Now the album has been altered.

"Walls and Bridges" was Lennon’s best-selling solo record released while he was alive. It contained two top-10 hits, “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” and “No. 9 Dream.” Ironically, the latter features whispered vocals by Pang, something Ono could not tamper with unless she wanted a huge uproar. “No. 9 Dream” is one of Lennon’s most played songs to this day.

Nevertheless, "Walls and Bridges" remains an unusual and often extraordinary collection of songs that has been eclipsed over the years by “Imagine” and “Double Fantasy.”

Lennon experiments with Philly soul (“Bless You”), gives a nod to the two big stars of the day — Stevie Wonder (“What You Got”) and Elton John (“Old Dirt Road”) — and takes yet another nasty swipe at former pal Paul McCartney (“Steel and Glass”).

As for Ono, an article in yesterday’s Japan Times doesn’t help much to restore her image. Writer Philip Basor points out that she’s shilled for a number of companies by appearing in Japanese TV commercials that feature Lennon songs.

The worst, I should think, is for Gibraltar Life Insurance. Lennon and Ono were married in Gibraltar, Spain — a point made in the Beatles song “The Ballad of John and Yoko.” The Lennon song “Woman” plays in the Gibraltar ad.

In a couple of days, Ono will compound her problems when she releases a book called “Memories of John.” There are interviews with 73 different people, many of whom did not know Lennon.

There are no interviews with the ex-Beatles, their wives, Lennon’s first wife, Cynthia, or son, Julian. John Fogerty says in the book, “I never met John, but I always felt that I knew him.” Yikes! There are also statements from such unlikely contributors as the Bangles’ Vicki Petersen, Bono, Alicia Keys, Steve Earle, Jello Biafra and Carlos Santana.

I don’t get it. Ono is obviously a brilliant woman and has been a great mother. All of these things — the musical, the book, the reissued albums — gave her an opportunity to show her generosity, wisdom and unselfishness. She seems to have passed on them all and taken a road that Lennon himself, even though he liked to put people on, would not have approved of

This might in another forum and I'm missing it, but does anyone know what other changes are in the album.

I always love a picture of John, but if why can't they just leave the picture on the cover as it was when it was released? It's no secret that I don't like Yoko, but she continues to do precious little to endear herself to me and other fans like me who don't like her messing so much with John's legacy.

I don't think that's very important. Did she change any of the music, any of the stuff on the inside? I could see how it might be a problem if she perhaps took out May's sexy moans of "nhoJ" or "Surprise, Surprise" because it's a sweet love song about May, but it may be a marketing thing. I imagine it may be harder for a John Lennon album to sell without a picture of John Lennon on the cover these days; a casual fan might not even notice WaB has been released, but if they're walking by and see an obvious Lennon album on the Newly Released rack, they're probably more likely to buy it.

Its actually a better sleeve as the original vinyl LP had a couple of pull backs where you could change the picture.
Terrible idea really as you'd see them in charity shops with tears in the card.
In other words the photo could not be seen without the folds and the flapping about.
Lennon didn't need gimmicks like that so Yoko has issued it as it should have been

True, it was probably more of a marketing thing than a Yoko thing, but I still feel it would have ben nice if the orignal cover was used. After all John chose it so it was an expression of what he wanted the album to say etc. What if they went changing the White album or Magical Mystery Tour just beacuse it dosen't have the Beatles? Not that Apple/Capitol/EMI would ever do that (I dare them :D ) Sure the W&B cover may not be as well known as those, but if they were changed it would cause an uproar among fans as well as mess with the artists original vision.

Or something.

Yes she made herself the producer, and made changes to the music, read the entire article, the part that is posted is just the beginning of the changes she made.

first of all I just have to laugh at what yoko is doing.

second of all I have to let you know that May Pang was NOT the only female saying "John" on number nine dream. Those background vocals were not hers alone. There was another singer named Lori Burton who sang "John" on that record. see the links attached.

text from link: Lori Burton and her husband, recording engineer Roy Cicala, began writing and producing together in the late '60s. Cicala became a top engineer in the industry and owner of the Record Plant (East) Studios in New York City, working on several John Lennon albums. Burton sang backup vocals on Lennon's "#9 Dream" in the mid-'70s, and recorded some tracks around that time that Lennon helped produce with Cicala. A couple of these numbers, which are poor disco-style tunes, appear on the CD packaged with Kristofer Engelhardt's book Beatles Undercover, which documents the Beatles appearances on records by other artists.



http://www.music.com/person/lori_burton/1/


http://www.connollyco.com/discograph...non/walls.html


Lori and May were considered the 44th street fairies backing vocal group. I am surprised that May takes all the credit for these vocals. Actually, the way I feel about May, it really doesn't surprise me at all.

Um...shouldn't this discussion be in Menlove Ave? Mods, your call...

Originally Posted by HMVNipper

Um...shouldn't this discussion be in Menlove Ave? Mods, your call...

It's OK, I have it under control!

Originally Posted by Pepperland Kamer

It's OK, I have it under control!

..and Steel and Glass is not about Paul its about Klien. I wonder how many other inaccuracies are in this piece

Originally Posted by LucyLennon4me

first of all I just have to laugh at what yoko is doing.

second of all I have to let you know that May Pang was NOT the only female saying "John" on number nine dream. Those background vocals were not hers alone. There was another singer named Lori Burton who sang "John" on that record. see the links attached.

text from link: Lori Burton and her husband, recording engineer Roy Cicala, began writing and producing together in the late '60s. Cicala became a top engineer in the industry and owner of the Record Plant (East) Studios in New York City, working on several John Lennon albums. Burton sang backup vocals on Lennon's "#9 Dream" in the mid-'70s, and recorded some tracks around that time that Lennon helped produce with Cicala. A couple of these numbers, which are poor disco-style tunes, appear on the CD packaged with Kristofer Engelhardt's book Beatles Undercover, which documents the Beatles appearances on records by other artists.



http://www.music.com/person/lori_burton/1/


http://www.connollyco.com/discograph...non/walls.html


Lori and May were considered the 44th street fairies backing vocal group. I am surprised that May takes all the credit for these vocals. Actually, the way I feel about May, it really doesn't surprise me at all.

Are you letting me know, or are you saying YOU as a general thing? All I really know about #9 Dream is what May said in her uh...book: that there were 4 singers, 2 male and 2 female, for the "ah bowakawa pousse pousse" gibberish and May whispering John's name.

Originally Posted by Pepperland Kamer

It's OK, I have it under control!

Not quite.

I recall there being another topic in Menlove Avenue about the remastered W&B that mentioned the change in cover, so I figured it would be better to keep this one here instead of having two topics in the same forum. What do you think, BB?

This thread isn't only about the change in the cover, though. But whatever you decide is fine with me.

Originally Posted by LovinLennon909

Are you letting me know, or are you saying YOU as a general thing? All I really know about #9 Dream is what May said in her uh...book: that there were 4 singers, 2 male and 2 female, for the "ah bowakawa pousse pousse" gibberish and May whispering John's name.

This is what I have always heard too.

there is no way to figure her she does things that defy exolaining and this would be one i will stick with what i have and as for bios cynthias was great and agood read i have no interest in yoko's it will only serve to glorify her too bad she could do so much and choses to act in ways nobody can figure

This is going to Menlove Avenue.

the "you" I referred to was general, not in response to any person posting here.

I don't buy re-mastered re-releases of anything!!! I much prefer vinyl and I don't any Beatle or solo Beatle albums on CD at all!!!!!! I understand that new fans etc would want to have it on CD and are not so likely to have a record player!!! Mine is actually 15 years older than me!!!!!
I don't really see the point of changing an album years after it's been made. If it was good enough at the time of its release then it should be good enough to make the transition to CD without adjustment. And for it to be changed by someone who had nothing to do with the album when it was made would be absolutely criminal IMO!!!!! What's the point?!?!

The point is it adds "new" product to the stores.
As Chapman deprived the World of a possible further 12 Lennon albums of new songs this is the only way the Legend carries on